Many current systems exist for measuring the geometry of three-dimensional surfaces. One such system is a coordinate measurement system (CMM) that is used to measure die stamps, stamped panels, and other vehicle body structures.
The current CMM systems suffer from a variety of disadvantages. First, the CMM systems are slow which limits the number of measurements that can be taken during any given period of time. Second, the CMM systems require surface contact in order to function properly and therefore may damage the surface of the part. The CMM systems are thus typically only used in connection with small-scale projects, which makes them relatively inefficient.
Additionally, current measurement surfaces typically have a variety of mechanically moving parts. These moving parts can cause vibrations in the system, which can affect the accuracy of the measurements. In order to reduce to inaccuracy or unreliability in the measurements of the systems that utilize mechanically moving parts, the system has to allow time for the vibration to settle before the measurements are taken. This, however, adds to the time of the process and therefore increases the cost. These systems also have limitations in data acquisition speed, size, and reliability.
It would therefore be advantageous to have a measurement system for accurately and reliably measuring the surface geometry of parts in three dimensions that is less expensive and more accurate than prior systems.